All articles by Jan Wagner – Page 5
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Features
Tracking the corporate funding wave
CTAs and Pensionsfonds offer complementary management structures for corporate pensions, says Jan Wagner
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News
Siemens approaches Swiss average return
SWITZERLAND – Siemens’ Swiss pension fund, which has CHF3.7bn (€2bn) in assets, has reported a return almost equal to the industry average and a slightly-improved funding ratio for 2006.
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News
February correction fails to halt Swiss gains
SWITZERLAND – Pension funds in Switzerland got off to a good start in 2007, finishing the first quarter with an average return of 1.4%, according to WM Performance Services, a tracker of institutional portfolios.
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News
Aargau scheme in search for new members
SWITZERLAND – Aargauische Pensionskasse (APK), a CHF6bn (€3.7bn) pension fund for civil servants in the northern canton of Aargau, has posted an an above-average return for 2006 and said that it will open its doors to extra-cantonal employers.
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News
Germany revamps investment law
GERMANY – The government has approved a host of reforms of Germany’s investment law, including easing investment restrictions on open-ended real estate funds and institutional funds and cutting approval periods for new funds.
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News
Swiss unions plan referendum on annuity cuts
SWITZERLAND – Unions in Switzerland have vowed to organise a national referendum on planned reductions in pension if the Swiss parliament approves those cuts.
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News
Union Investment agrees Chinese joint venture
GLOBAL – German asset manager Union Investment has teamed up with Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia (BEA) to launch a new fund venture for the Chinese market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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News
Sal. Oppenheim buys French asset boutique
EUROPE – German private bank Sal. Oppenheim has fully acquired Financière Atlas, a French asset management boutique, in a move which it says will give it a bigger share of France’s institutional market.
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News
Berne teachers improving coverage ratio
SWITZERLAND – BLVK, the CHF5bn (€3.05bn) pension fund for teachers in Berne, says a good performance of its investments enabled it to post an above-average return for the year and further close its funding deficit.
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News
Siemens files charges against external managers
SWITZERLAND – Siemens’ Swiss arm has filed criminal charges against what it said were “external managers” who had links with Roland Rümmeli, the disgraced former head of investments at its pension fund (Pensionkasse).
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News
CSAM Germany posts institutional inflows
GERMANY – The German arm of Crédit Suisse Asset Management has reported mixed results for 2006, with its institutional funds posting inflows and its mutual funds hit by outflows.
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News
Germany's bank fund BVV rises to €18.6bn
GERMANY – BVV, a pension fund for Germany’s financial sector, says it raised its assets by €900m in 2006 to €18.6bn and that €1bn is being earmarked annually for new investment.
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News
Swiss pension association makes bold proposals
SWITZERLAND – Swiss pension fund association ASIP has made the novel proposal of abolishing the current rate of conversion for occupational pension benefits and instead calculating those benefits according to life expectancy.
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News
Allianz merges hedge fund units
EUROPE – German insurance giant Allianz has merged two hedge fund subsidiaries to create a new Paris-based provider following the departures of three founders of one of the units two weeks ago.
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News
German blue chips ‘set for full pension funding’
GERMANY – German blue-chip firms’ pension schemes will be fully-funded by 2010 – if current trends continue - according to consultant Rauser Towers Perrin.
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News
Switzerland’s ASIP names new president
SWITZERLAND – The management board of Swiss pension fund lobby group ASIP has nominated Christoph Ryter to succeed current president Hans Ender.
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News
Red ink at Swiss rail fund SBB
SWITZERLAND – The pension fund for state-owned Swiss railways operator SBB plunged into the red in 2006, reporting a loss of CHF60m (€36.7m) due to underperformance of its assets.
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News
ABP, ATP in €700m German real estate tie
REAL ESTATE – Dutch and Danish pension giants ABP and ATP have teamed up with German real estate firm Patrizia Immobilien to launch a joint venture that will invest up to €700m in German commercial real estate.
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News
€5bn Swiss energy fund names CFO
SWITZERLAND – Pensionskasse Energie, a CHF8.5bn (€5.2bn) pension fund for the Swiss energy sector, has appointed Bernard Rasper as its new chief financial officer.
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News
Managers criticised in German study
GERMANY – Property fund manager Oppenheim Immobilien KAG (OIK), bond specialist Pimco and Axa Investment Managers have elicited the most criticism in a new survey of German institutional investors.
